Hurricane Melissa

• 1. Introduction

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  Hurricane Melissa tied Hurricane Allen as the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded by sustained wind. Both storms reached 165 knots, and no other Atlantic hurricane has ever matched that figure. In late October 2025, Melissa carried nearly that force ashore in Jamaica, in a landfall that proved catastrophic. For days beforehand, though, the storm had looked like little more than a ragged disturbance wandering the Caribbean. This documentary asks how a disorganized system turned into one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, and what that power did to the people in its path, from Jamaican parishes to river towns in Haiti. It asks how much the warmth of the ocean contributed to the storm's strength. And it asks what happens to a storm's name after it has done this much harm.

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• 2. Rapid Intensification

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  Melissa began as a tropical wave that moved off the coast of West Africa on the 13th of October 2025. On the 16th, the National Hurricane Center began monitoring it for possible development. By the 19th, the wave had crossed the Windward Islands and entered the Caribbean Sea. It then slowed sharply, which gave a defined center and organized thunderstorms a chance to form. Early on the 21st, the system became Tropical Storm Melissa.

  Between the 21st and the 25th of October, Melissa drifted slowly and erratically west to northwest across the central Caribbean. Ridges of high pressure to its northwest and southeast left it with only weak steering currents. Westerly wind shear from a broad trough over the Gulf of Mexico kept the storm from strengthening much. The circulation kept reforming farther to the east, so the storm stayed disorganized.

  On the 25th of October, the trough finally moved past, and the shear gradually eased. Melissa's core lined up vertically, and outflow grew stronger in the eastern half of the system. The northward drift ended as the ridge to the northwest took over the steering. The surroundings were now extremely favorable, with very high ocean heat content, light shear and very moist air at mid levels.

  Late on the 25th, Melissa began to intensify rapidly, and by that afternoon it was a hurricane. In just 24 hours, its maximum sustained winds nearly doubled, from 70 mph to 130 mph, which is 215 km/h. Early on the 27th, the storm reached Category 5. Its winds hit 155 knots by 18:00 UTC and stayed there for about 18 hours.

  Several meteorologists pointed out something unusual about that long stretch of peak strength. Melissa never went through an eyewall replacement cycle, in which a strong storm reorganizes its inner core. Without that interruption, the storm held its intensity far longer than most. After turning north-northeastward, it reached its peak winds and a minimum central pressure of 892 millibars at 12:00 UTC on the 28th. Less than six hours later, the storm was over Jamaica.

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• 3. Records Broken

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  Inside Melissa, a dropsonde measured a gust of 252 mph at an altitude of 657 feet, or 200 meters. A dropsonde is an instrument released from an aircraft to sample the air on its way down. No dropsonde anywhere in the world had recorded a stronger gust. The previous record was 248 mph, set by Typhoon Megi in 2010.

  At 17:25 UTC on the 28th of October, Melissa struck land near New Hope, in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica. Its sustained winds were 160 knots and its pressure was 897 millibars, just below its peak. By wind speed, that ties the 1935 Labor Day hurricane and Hurricane Dorian as the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricanes. By pressure at landfall, only the 1935 Labor Day hurricane was lower, which makes Melissa second.

  Ranked by lowest pressure, Melissa shares third place among all Atlantic hurricanes with the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. Only Wilma and Gilbert were lower. Gilbert has a special place in Jamaican memory. In 1988 it became the strongest hurricane on record to strike the island. Melissa surpassed it, and it is now the strongest tropical cyclone ever to make landfall in Jamaica.

  Within the 2025 Atlantic season, Melissa was the thirteenth and final named storm. It was also the fifth hurricane, the fourth major hurricane and the third Category 5. Across the whole planet, no tropical cyclone that year was stronger. Researchers soon began asking how much of that strength the Caribbean Sea itself had supplied.

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• 4. Warm Water

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  The waters Melissa drifted over during its slow crawl were 1.4 degrees Celsius warmer than average. Two rapid attribution studies examined those conditions. They estimated that human-caused climate change made such warmth 500-900 times more likely. Melissa then went through extreme rapid intensification over that heat.

  The same studies tried to measure what the extra warmth added to the storm. They estimated that climate change raised the hurricane's top wind speed by about 10 mph. That small-sounding gain increased the storm's potential to cause damage by up to 50%. Rainfall was estimated to be up to 10% higher as well.

  Jamaica's economic growth minister, Matthew Samuda, carried this argument to the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference in mid-November. He told delegates, "Hurricane Melissa changed the life of every Jamaican in less than 24 hours." He called the storm evidence of "the new phase of climate change" and urged the global community to fulfill its commitments to limit the worst effects. Long before he spoke, forecasters had given the islands several days of warning.

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• 5. Bracing for Impact

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  On the 21st of October, a hurricane watch went up for southern Haiti, and a tropical storm watch was issued for Jamaica. Two days later, Jamaica's watch became a hurricane watch with a tropical storm warning, and a tropical storm warning was added for southern Haiti. By the 24th, Jamaica was under a full hurricane warning.

  The tourism industry rerouted around the storm. The Disney Treasure skipped Tortola and Saint Thomas for Cozumel, and the Margaritaville at Sea Islander swapped Grand Cayman and Jamaica for Belize and Honduras. Celebrity Beyond and Icon of the Seas moved to a western Caribbean route. Airlines cancelled 167 flights across the Greater Antilles and nearby regions.

  In the Dominican Republic, twelve provinces were placed under red alert. Four shelters opened, and 61 people sought refuge in them. About 90 people left Saona Island. The Cayman Islands handed out sandbags, and diving operations on Little Cayman and Cayman Brac stopped on the 24th of October. In Curaçao, Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas closed schools to give emergency services more flexibility.

  Cuba issued hurricane warnings for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, Holguín and Las Tunas. First Secretary Miguel Díaz-Canel reported that 735,000 people had been evacuated in the eastern regions. The United States Navy also began moving several hundred people out of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to Florida. Those evacuated included all non-mission-essential U.S. citizens.

  In the Bahamas, almost 1,500 residents evacuated before the storm. Orders covered Acklins, Crooked Island, Inagua, Long Cay, Mayaguana and Ragged Island. The British Ministry of Defence sent eight people and the HMS Trent to the Turks and Caicos Islands. Bermuda's causeway, buses and L.F. Wade International Airport closed on the evening of the 30th of October and reopened the next day.

  In Jamaica, 30 buses were deployed in Portmore, Spanish Town, Rockfort and Montego Bay. All airports closed on the 25th of October. The National Gallery of Jamaica and the Bob Marley Museum shut on the 24th. At the University of the West Indies in Mona, students were ordered to evacuate and graduation ceremonies were postponed. By the 27th, 1,700 people had gone to shelters. Some shelters closed as residents arrived, leaving them waiting outside, and the government said misinformation was keeping others away. Black River High School was mistaken for a shelter, and some people went there.

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• 6. Western Jamaica

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  By 06:00 local time on the 27th of October, multiple communities in Saint Elizabeth had already lost power. Three people had died of indirect causes in Saint Elizabeth, Saint Catherine and Hanover parishes, and 13 were injured while preparing. Around 52,000 Jamaica Public Service customers lost power as Melissa approached. After the storm struck, that number rose to 530,000.

  The highest wind reported in Jamaica was a gust of 131 mph near New Hope primary school, recorded before the station was destroyed. Westmoreland Parish recorded 15 deaths. One of them was a pregnant woman in Petersfield, whose home collapsed around her. In Seaford Town, home to a German minority and a museum sponsored by the Government of Germany, every public building was destroyed.

  In Saint Elizabeth Parish, 18 deaths were recorded, and the parish was described as being "underwater". In Mandeville, houses were submerged up to their roofs, and a BBC journalist described the town as "flattened". Black River and Crawford had the highest storm surge. Nearly 90% of Black River's homes lost their roofs, its hospital's roof was blown off, and its fire station was inundated with 16 feet of water. The Waterloo House, a colonial-era landmark, was destroyed. In Cobie Ridge, a sinkhole opened beneath the home of an elderly woman.

  Much of Montego Bay, in Saint James Parish, was flooded. Its port and industrial park went under water, and the ceiling of Sangster International Airport's terminal largely collapsed. Two deaths were recorded in the parish, including an infant killed by a falling tree. In Trelawny Parish, Falmouth was described as "all but destroyed", and its courthouse, infirmary and road and works department were wrecked.

  Around 150,000 structures were damaged, and about 120,000 of them lost their roofs. Some 24,000 buildings were totaled, which left thousands of families homeless. The parishes of Saint Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Saint James, Trelawny and Hanover lost all communication. Of 1,010 public schools, 721 were damaged, and 160 were still closed six weeks later. About 40% of the national health system was damaged, as were 40-50% of hotels. Sandals needed until December to reopen five of its hotels and until May 2026 for the other three. In December, air traffic at Sangster International Airport fell more than 48% below the previous year.

  At least 41,390 hectares of farmland were damaged, affecting more than 70,000 farmers. More than 1.25 million animals were lost. Roughly 32,400 hectares of vegetable fields and 2,450 hectares of plantain and banana farms were hit. Agricultural losses were put at J$29.5 billion, or US$184 million. Over half of the island's forests suffered damage as well.

  Across Jamaica, at least 45 people were killed, 13 were missing and 96 were injured. Estimates of the cost differ. One tally puts damage at no less than US$12.2 billion, while another puts the loss near US$8.8 billion. Two weeks after the storm, floodwaters rose again in Manchester Parish, and health officials warned people to avoid direct contact. A leptospirosis outbreak followed, with 71 suspected cases and seven confirmed deaths so far. As of the 1st of January 2026, many areas still lacked electricity, road access and clean water.

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• 7. Beyond Jamaica

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  More than 35 inches of rain fell on Haiti's Tiburon Peninsula, even though Melissa stayed far to the southwest. Polo, in the Dominican Republic, received 29 inches. In Haiti, 43 people were killed and 13 went missing. Three died in a landslide near Port-au-Prince and one when a tree fell in Marigot. In Petit-Goâve, 25 died after the La Digue River burst its banks, burying the town in dirt and debris and sweeping away cars and homes. In Artibonite Department, a collapsing wall injured 15 people.

  Over 645,000 people in Haiti were affected, and at least 840,000 structures were damaged, along with six medical facilities. By the 1st of November, 15,800 people were still in shelters. A survey of farming households found losses as high as $5,854 per household in the hardest-hit department.

  In the Dominican Republic, more than 1.1 million people lost their water supply, and 56 aqueducts stopped working. Flooding damaged 53 bridges, and part of a road collapsed in María Trinidad Sánchez. A facade fell from a hospital in Constanza, and the hospital suspended operations. A 71-year-old man was swept away by a swollen river in Santo Domingo Norte, and a child went missing in Los Mameyes. Four people died in all, and damage came to RD$1.5 billion, or $23.36 million.

  Melissa made landfall in eastern Cuba at around 07:10 UTC on the 29th of October, about 20 miles east of Chivirico. Its sustained winds were Category 3, at 115 mph, and its pressure was 954 millibars. An elevated weather station recorded a gust of 136 mph. Díaz-Canel reported "considerable damage", with streets in Santiago de Cuba buried in debris. Around 992,000 houses were damaged or destroyed in Guantánamo, Holguín and Santiago de Cuba provinces. The region lost power and cellular service, 642 medical facilities were damaged, and an oil refinery in Santiago de Cuba was hurt.

  The same parts of Cuba were already struggling. Earlier in the season, Hurricane Imelda had caused immense flooding. Melissa also hit areas still recovering from Hurricane Oscar and its damage to the power system. The Cauto River overflowed, and some regions received about 20 inches of rain. One death was reported in El Cobre, and 17 people were injured. Antonio Maceo Airport did not reopen to domestic flights until the 15th of November. Two weeks after landfall, 60% of power infrastructure in Santiago de Cuba province was still dark. About 158,000 hectares of crops were damaged or destroyed, and 53,000 people remained displaced. Outbreaks of dengue fever and chikungunya followed. In all, the storm's death toll was 95, made up of 45 in Jamaica, 43 in Haiti, four in the Dominican Republic and one in Cuba.

  At the U.S. Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, downed trees left 16 homes uninhabitable, and the air traffic control tower at the air strip was partially flooded. After crossing Cuba's rugged terrain, the storm fell to high-end Category 1 strength. It then struck Long Island in the Bahamas at 22:15 UTC on the 29th. Another landfall followed at San Salvador Island at 02:00 UTC on the 30th. Crooked Island had gusts of 85 mph. San Salvador lost power after 18 utility poles came down, and the power station on Long Island was severely damaged. The Turks and Caicos Islands saw only rough seas, brisk winds and thunderstorms.

  Melissa re-strengthened to Category 2 before approaching Bermuda on the morning of the 30th of October, with winds of 90 knots. As it passed near the island, an elevated anemometer at the National Museum of Bermuda recorded a gust of 98 mph. Around 19,000 customers, about half the island, lost power, and five substations went offline. Otherwise the damage was limited to scattered debris, downed wires and utility pole fires. Extratropical transition began early on the 31st, and the storm dissipated on the 1st of November, merging into a larger trough. By then, aid was already flowing toward the islands it had struck.

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• 8. Recovery and Retirement

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  On the 1st of December, CAF, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank announced a joint support package. It offered up to US$6.7 billion over three years to help Jamaica recover from estimated total damage of US$8.8 billion. The World Bank also paid out a US$150 million catastrophe bond that Melissa had triggered. On the 23rd of December, the World Food Programme began distributing food to 123,000 people in western Jamaica.

  Jamaica's own government moved on housing and money. The National Housing Trust bought 5,000 container homes to distribute and sell. A six-month moratorium on mortgages covered 20,000 properties, and consumption taxes on certain goods were suspended until the 15th of January 2026. Officials put restoring power to Montego Bay first, so that undamaged hotels could restart tourism. The Minister of Tourism said the country lost US$62 million in tourism in the first week alone. The United States and Jamaican air forces flew supplies to isolated communities, and Starlink service was made free for Jamaicans.

  Private donors and other governments gave in large amounts. The Miami Heat and its regional partners donated around US$1 million in supplies. Disney pledged US$1 million, and American Airlines raised more than US$1.2 million for the American Red Cross. Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot and owner of the Atlanta Falcons, announced US$1.5 million for World Central Kitchen and another US$1 million for Team Rubicon. The Philadelphia Union held a relief drive with goalkeeper Andre Blake. The United States Department of State sent $12 million to Jamaica and announced $24 million for all affected nations, including $8.5 million for Haiti and $3 million for Cuba.

  The United Nations appealed for $74 million on the 5th of November to help people in Cuba. China sent supplies and 5,000 photovoltaic panels there, and the Pan American Health Organization delivered 23,000 pounds of medical supplies. Japan gave $1 million to Haiti. The Dominican Republic saw a surge of tourists later in 2025 because other islands had been damaged, and it approved hundreds of flights to handle them.

  Two concerts, Jamaica Strong and Nice Up Jamaica, were held in December, with Caribbean singers such as Johnny Osbourne headlining. On the 10th of November, a Beechcraft King Air bound for a relief mission crashed in Coral Springs, Florida, shortly after leaving Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. A Christian missionary and his adult daughter died. Jamaica's customs agency also found four firearms hidden in relief shipments, and they are under investigation.

  In January 2026, Jamaica's forestry department announced a plan to plant 300,000 trees. The program, called the Reforestation, Ecological Enhancement, and Landscape Framework initiative, or RE-LEAF, officially began in March 2026. That same month, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name Melissa because of the destruction and loss of life in the Caribbean, especially in Jamaica. It will never again be used for an Atlantic tropical cyclone. Its replacement is Molly, which will first appear on the list for the 2031 season.

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